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Dessert

Marble Cake

A layered cake with alternating white and dark batter, creating a marbled appearance.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Women of the First Congregational Church (Marysville, Ohio) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Marble Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batters

  1. Prepare the white batter: combine one and a half cups white sugar, one-half cup butter, one-half cup milk, two and a half cups flour, two teaspoons baking powder, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth; flavor to taste.

  2. Prepare the dark batter: combine yolks of four eggs, one and a half cups brown sugar, one-half cup butter, one-half cup milk, two and a half cups flour, two teaspoons baking powder, one teaspoon cinnamon, one teaspoon allspice, one-quarter teaspoon black pepper, and half a nutmeg; stir butter and sugar, add the milk, then the eggs, and lastly the flour in which the spices and baking powder have been well mixed.

Bake

  1. Bake for one hour.

Marble

  1. Alternate the white and dark parts, either by spoonfuls or by layers, to create a marbled appearance.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

857Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
125 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Women of the First Congregational Church (Marysville, Ohio). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Whites beaten to a stiff froth add lift and airy structure; yolks enrich the dark batter.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
Butter
Adds richness and a tender crumb, and carries flavor through the batter.
White sugar
Sweetens the batter and helps keep the crumb tender and moist.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the oven so both batters rise and become light.
Milk
Adds moisture that hydrates the flour and keeps the crumb soft.

The step that matters

Alternate the white and dark batters. Spooning or layering the two batters keeps them distinct so the contrast shows. Overmixing blends them into an even colour and loses the marbled look.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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